Ladbrokes.com announce lead sponsorship for the Shoreditch Urban Open

Pro-golfer Ronan Rafferty, the 1989 European Volvo Order of Merit Number One, will join avid golf enthusiasts on May 30 th for the exclusive, inaugural Ladbrokes.com Shoreditch Urban Open Golf tournament.

The Ladbrokes.com Shoreditch Urban Open plays host to 64 golf enthusiasts as they work their way round the streets of Shoreditch to play 18 holes off buildings and through car parks using a specially designed leather golf ball and fire hydrant covers for the holes.

The 18 hole course has been specifically designed to take advantage of the surrounding urban environment and demonstrate that golf can be played anywhere, not just on the green.  Shoreditch council have been involved in the build of the course and will be shutting the surrounding streets on the day of the tournament.

The course is known for its particular physical features including 18 phone boxes, 3 car parks and one 'no ball' game sign. The holes are named after streets and roads with names like Tabernacle, Leonard West and Paul Central.  The longest hole is Paul South at approximately 215 yards (par 5).

Like traditional golf, Urban Golf has its technical shots to combat the suburban jungle including "A Gunt" (a square deflection of an opposing brick wall); "A Plantain" (a hook of extraordinary proportions); "A Streak of Nature" (a potential water hazard).

Unit 20, the creative team behind the tournament have been pounded with over 500 entrants in this inaugural year.  A specific screening process was undertaken to whittle the entrants down to an exclusive 64 privileged players. 

Jeremy Feakes, tournament organiser said, "It has been pretty tough whittling down to our select 64 but we needed to choose the most competent golfers to handle this course.  It will be interesting to see whether Mr Rafferty can tackle this killer course - my money says he won't!"

Jeremy continued, "We have been amazed by the number of entrants and the things people will do to secure a place.  There is even a ticket on ebay selling for £5000!"

Damian Walker, Ladbrokes.com, said, "We are proud to be sponsoring what we hope will be the future of golfing to come.  Urban Golf is about playing when you want, where you want.  Forget Augusta and its manicured greens, golf has hit the suburbs and the Ladbrokes.com Shoreditch Urban Open demonstrates it can be done!"

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